it's hot here...

It is really hot around here. We've tried to survive the heat by swimming or staying inside.

the watermine...





the baltimore chidren's museum...

more to him than donuts and coffee...

Sunday evening we went out for a drive and decided to go see the National Cathedral. We ended up getting a little lost, so we pulled over to look at the map. I was trying to locate our current location on the map, but was having a hard time finding the street. In the meantime, a nice Police Man noticed us and pulled over to help. Ethan was very excited about going to see the Cathedral and he was insistent on telling him. However, the guy was busy talking with Jon about the directions and wasn't paying attention. Ethan was getting very impatient with him and repeated, "We're going to the Cathedral. We're going to the Cathedral. Hey, little boy, we are going to the Cathedral!" Luckily he was an A-typical Police Man and didn't mind being talked down to. Probably because he has three kids of his own.

Anyway, after having a rough time giving us directions he suggested we just follow him. As we were following him, Jon became worried he would notice our headlight that has been out for a while. I assumed we were fine, especially because I had just seen him break a number of traffic laws.

When we arrived to the Cathedral he pulled up next to us and we expressed our appreciation. Before he pulled away he said, "Do you know you have a front light out?"

"Yeah, we just noticed." Awkward pause. Subject change.

"Hmm, so where you guys from anyway?"

i'm feeling gypped...

Everyone in Utah is celebrating a holiday, and here, well, we're not.


(Don't be fooled by the "brotherly love" facade, the big gash on Will's forehead is compliments of Ethan.)

Jon is out of town for a few days, so that means me going to the gym: not an option. So, we improvised. We went into DC to walk around the monuments. I was able to exercise and the boys were happy... and strapped in. Perfect.

Although Ethan has seen the Washington Monument a number of times, ever since the fireworks he has become somewhat fascinated with it. Whenever he sees it from across the river in the car, he gets very excited, "Mom, it's the Washingment!" (I like his "nickname", or more like his confusion. It's more efficient.) So today was especially fun for him. He was able to get out and touch it and just enjoy looking at it. He put it nicely, "Mom, it's wonderful."

ahh, the beach...

With our days here in Virginia winding down, we needed to check another destination off our "to-see" list. On Saturday, after five hours of driving (traffic was horrible, the drive home was much quicker), we arrived in Virginia Beach...to a down pour. Thankfully, in true Virginia fashion, it cleared right up and cleared a lot of people out, which meant a great parking spot.


Lucky for us, Ethan's new shovel and bucket also served as entertainment on the drive.

"Look me Mom, I'm Sir Topham Hatt (from Thomas the Train)."




Ethan loved the beach...







Will, not so much...



I took Will down to the water to watch Jon and Ethan playing.

From behind it appears he is loving it, cheering in fact.



From the front...Yeah right.





We ate at a great restaurant right on the beach, walked along the boardwalk, played on the playground, ate ice cream, got sunburned, enjoyed time together. It was such a fun day.

a great friend...

We have had the chance to get together a lot with a great family from our ward. It has been really great for Ethan to be able to play with someone his age.

Ethan and Lizzy...


(We told the kids to put their heads together for a picture...this is what we got.)




(Ethan had a wardrobe malfunction, so he ended up
in Will's swimsuit, which fit much better, no surprise.)

we heart grandma sue...

After my Dad and Hillarie left us, we were blessed to have my Mom stay an extra week. We had such a great time. We shopped, ate yogurt (we're talking the fabulous frozen, tart kind, not yoplait...you know, the pinkberry knockoff kind), went to the park, ate more yogurt, went to Alexandria Old Town, shopped some more, ate even more yogurt, had a jumping contest, got lost a few times (typical for me), laughed, ate good food, went on fun walks...the list goes on. The last morning she was here we went for a really fun walk on a walking path through a wooded area. It was beautiful. As we were walking, some lady walked passed us and in a nasty voice said, "those poor kids." I guess she didn't like the fact that both my Mom and I were on our phones with the boys crying in the stroller.

Grandma Sue getting some nice air...



Ethan trying to copy...



The boys love Grandma Sue and miss her dearly. Maybe it's because when she's around they get spoiled. Ethan's Thomas Train collection grew ten fold last week. Each time we went shopping, he walked away with a new train. Unfortunately for him, I'm not as nice. Today we walked into a store and he said, "hmmm, what do I want? What should I get?" When I explained to him that only happens when Grandma Sue comes, he finally conceded with, "Oh dear."



Thanks for all the fun!

not in utah anymore huh?...

My brother-in-law Matt is serving in Afghanistan right now. The other day he was walking around the city and he saw this...




With my Mom still in town, Jon and I decided to take advantage of free babysitting and go to the Temple. It was really great, and as always the DC Temple was absolutely beautiful. On our way home the car started to run out of gas. We were on the freeway and without knowing our surroundings very well, we took a chance and got off at an exit in Maryland. We headed towards Potomac, MD which turned out to be the most beautiful place with the most amazing homes I have ever seen. Although it was very dark, I was still stunned at how gorgeous it was (I think we'll drive back tomorrow just to confirm). As we passed by each home I would say, "Oh, look at that one. No, look at that one. Oh, Jon, I want to live here (However, secretly I was very mad at Jon because there was no sign of commercial life, ANYWHERE)." After a few miles of faithful driving-after all we had just come from the Temple-we found a gas station. As we were waiting at the stop light, a nice car pulled up next to us. Fitting, given the area we were in...we definitely looked out of place. Anyway, I looked over and the driver was smiling and waving at me. I kindly waved and smiled, then looked away. I looked over again and this time he had his window down and was saying something to me. Very confused, I rolled down my window and he says, "Oh, you are not who I thought you were (thanks a lot buddy). Your Utah plates threw me off." Now excited, I said, "Oh, are you from Utah?" Turns out he is from Utah but lives in the Potomac area now. Anyway, after about a minute of chit-chat, we parted ways from our new found friend and pulled into the gas station...where we paid $4.39 a gallon. Ouch.

Unfortunately, I'm not usually so lucky at meeting other fellow Utahans. Yesterday at the grocery store some kid had on a U of U shirt, so silly me, I assumed he must be from Utah. All excited I went up to him and said, "Hey, are you from Utah?" He gave me a very annoyed look and said, "Huh? No, I'm just wearing the shirt." Then he walked off. Ok, crazy assumption on my part.

celebrate good times...

We watched the fireworks on the hill at the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was so beautiful. We had to fight some rain, but it was worth it. Ethan absolutely loved seeing the fireworks and would say, over and over, "Oh it's amazing and pretty too. I can't believe it. It's wonderful." Then he tapped the girl standing in front of him on the head and said, "You see fireworks too? It's amazing." He was so giddy. He talked about them all night.

one 'wicked' cool trip...

Last Sunday my family came to visit (perfect timing as Jon had just left to go to Belgium for work). We had such a great time together. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in New York. It was Hillarie's first time in NY and she loved it. So did Ethan. As we crossed the bridge into the city, Ethan said, "Holy cow. I can't believe it. I love New York."



Tuesday night Jen came to the hotel and watched the boys so we could go to Wicked. Wow! Now I know what I've been missing out on. It was so good.




We missed Jon so much, we texted the JumboTron in Times Square a message for him.



Wednesday we spent sightseeing around New York. The boys were great and Hillarie was a champ (walking boot and all)!

number one visitor...

Jon's sister Jen came to visit a couple weekends ago. She was our first visitor! Her train got in from NY late Friday night and left Sunday afternoon, so we didn't have a lot of time. We went to the Newseum in DC, which was super cool. Lining the outside of the building, they show the front page of a newspaper from each state. That day it was Logan's Herald Journal. I got a bit homesick.

park it...

The other day Jon and I were talking about how much we are enjoying Virgina: the history, the shopping, good food, great people. There are so many things to love, but I am especially loving all the great parks (something I will definitely miss when we leave). There are a million parks here, and they are all awesome. Some of them have water fountains to play in, some with toy cars to drive, a few have carousels, and one has a train that takes you through a grove of trees.